Joe Root, on Saturday, said that newly-appointed head coach Stephen Fleming’s appointment was a major factor in his decision to return as England Test captaincy. The champion batter is hopeful of building ‘something special’ alongside the former New Zealand cricketer.
“If I’m being brutally honest, he was a big reason why I wanted to do it,” Root told the ECB’s official website after assuming the leadership again after having taken the reins back in 2017. “I’m very excited by the way he sees the game, where he sees us sit as a team and the work that we have to do to get to where we want to get to. All of that got me very excited about taking this role on.
“He’s obviously got a wealth of experience and done some amazing things within the game as a player and as a coach. Very much looking forward to the next little while and us trying to build something pretty special together.”
Root acknowledged he has evolved a great deal since his first spell at the helm ended in 2022. “The unique and nice position I find myself in this time is I’ve got a wealth of experience in terms of knowing what it takes, knowing what it looks like, having seen success with it and seeing some hard times as well,” Root said. “I’ve got a lot to fall back on and help me and the team moving forward.
“I don’t think many captains get that opportunity, certainly not with the amount of games that I have behind me and the experiences that I’ve had in between.”
